How & Where Did You Meet?
We met at Anjani's cousins wedding in Selsdon Park, Surrey four & half years ago.

Which Venue Did You Choose & Why?
Straight after we got engaged in June 2006. We started to researching venues. We looked on the Internet, went through referrals and questioned numerous event management companies, finally deciding on the palace pavilion in Kew Gardens.

We chose the venue due to it's proximity to London, the rural feel due to the gardens and the sheer space available. Other factors included the capacity to accommodate 300 guests and permission for us to use our chosen caterers, Vama. The flexibility for decorations & creating the wow factor with the semi permanent marquee structure already erected on the grounds made this the perfect venue choice for us.

How did you plan your wedding?
A lot of the initial wedding planning and ideas generation took place between Aadarsh & myself brainstorming, using sources from India & the US. We visited many wedding shows in the USA & sourced many of the little special touches from India.

We used many spreadsheets & time lines for planning, visited & tested many suppliers to find ones that suited our requirements and used many wedding magazines and websites from around the globe to get as many ideas as possible.

To pull all our grand wedding plans together, we enlisted the services of expert wedding planners Tania Tapel who were introduced to us by Vama, our caterers. They helped us with the logistics of planning the day and implementing all our grand ideas professionally and to perfection.

What did the bride wear?
I wore a couture gold lengha for the wedding made by Rakesh Aggarwal, an eminent designer from India. For the reception I wore a couture Rakesh Aggarwal lilac lengha.

The shoes for the wedding ceremony were hand made by Jimmy Choo himself & the reception shoes were from Gina. The wedding jewellery set was gold with diamonds. All this was made by the family jeweller in Mumbai. The reception jewellery set was a string of solitaire diamonds as a necklace & solitaire drop earrings, which were purchased in Dubai.

What did the groom wear?
Adarsh wore a cream sherwani for the wedding ceremony & two tone maroon sherwani for the reception. Both of these perfectly complemented my outfits.

Describe the ceremony. Were there any particularly memorable moments?
The ceremony was very spiritual & the priest explained all the proceedings in English. Indian music representing each aspect was played corresponding to the rituals. What was memorable was the bride kept getting stuck with the string tied with the groom!

Tell Us About The Reception?
The reception venue was part of the ceremony marquee but cordoned off during the ceremony so we didn't have to travel elsewhere, it was all in one place

The reception theme was pink & white, we had low & high table settings, a dome of roses set in vases that had a shard of light penetrating through the vase with candles & petals scattered on the tables. The setting of the tables had crystal glassware in a stylish design & cutlery that was modern. The tablecloths alternated with pink & white. The marquee had pink swags on the ceiling & the sides of the marquee had perspex flourcesent plinths with butterfly cages & flowers. The gardens had rajasthani umbrellas & hurricane vases with petals & candles surrounding the marquee.

While dinner was being served, the ceremony marquee was converted to a bar lounge with huge Indian elephants, sofas, banquettes & a chocolate fountain & bar. All this gave the event the wow factor & looked incredible….

What Kind Of Food Did You Have?
We had Pink Champagne for the reception with the canapés. The canapés were delicious and included Chicken murgh, fish amritsari, seekh lamb kebabs, puhcka behl, paneer tikka and subzi potlis.

The main courses were extensive to say the least and included Vama Punjabi Daal, Onion Pulao, Achari Chicken, Lamb Karahi, Chana Masala, Bhindi Do Piaza, Bhaingan Bhartha, Raita, Papadoms and Naan Bread.

For desert we had Coca Moca Cappuccinos, Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai. There were strawberries & cream with pink sugar. We also had Petits Fours from Maison du Chocolat & L'artisan du Chocolat

What Was Your First Dance?
Kabhi Kabhi - the eternal love classic!

Where Did You Go On Honeymoon?
On our wedding night we stayed at the Bingham Hotel in Richmond on Thames and swiftly departed for our honeymoon to LA and Hawaii.

Our Wedding Planner
Tania-Tapel - Anita Patel - 0116 247 1115

Our Photographer & Videographer
Vipul Rao

Our Venue
The Ultimate Experience, Nicci Purnell

Flowers & Theming
Chance, Jeremy Andersen

Our Caterer
Vama - www.vama.co.uk